A Hymn with a History

Improvement Era Vol. XXVII OCTOBER, 1924 No. 12 A HYMN WITH A HISTORY By Orson F. Whitney, of the Council of the Twelve President Charles W. Penrose, speaking in the Eighteenth ward chapel on a Sunday afternoon not long since, gave the history of some of the hymns composed by him and frequently sung in the meetings of the Latter-day Saints. One of these hymns had been rendered by the choir and congregation just before President Penrose began to speak. He said in relation to this sacred song: " 'School Thy Feelings,' which we have just sung, was written under peculiar circumstances, just before I left England, after having traveled over ten years in the ministry. A sort of quiet slander had been circulated concerning me in Birmingham, by an Elder from Zion, and it cut me to the quick. There was not a word of truth in the story. An accusation was made, but there was no bottom to it, and it ruffled me. I did not care how much I might be scandalized by enemies of the Church; I had become accustomed to that. I used to say that my hide had got as tough as a hippopotamus; I did not care what an enemy said about me. But when an Elder in the Church did that, it cut me to the heart, and I felt like retaliating. But I sat down and wrote that little poem, 'School thy feelings, O my brother, Train thy warm, impulsive soul,' and so on. And that was for me. I did not intend it for anybody else, but it was giving a little counsel to myself." The poem referred to is one that we all admire. I am partic- ularly fond of the following stanzas: School thy feelings, there is power In the cool, collected mind; Passion shatters reason's tower, Makes the clearest vision blind. Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, as second class matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917 , authorized on July Z, 1918, $2 per annum. Address Room 406 Church Office Building, Salt Lake City, Utah.

1110 IMPROVEMENT ERA School thy feelings; condemnation Never pass on friend or foe, Though the tide of accusation Like a flood of truth may flow. Hear defense before deciding, And a ray of light may gleam, Showing thee what filth is hiding Underneath the shallow stream. Should affliction's acrid vial Burst o'er thy unsheltered head, School thy feelings to the trial, Half its bitterness hath fled. Art thou falsely, basely slandered? Does the world begin to frown? Gauge thy wrath by wisdom's standard, Keep thy rising anger down. * Rest thyself on this assurance: Time's a friend to innocence, And that patient, calm endurance Wins respect and aids defense. Here was one who knew himself to be "falsely, basely slander- ed," pleading, not with his accuser, but with himself, against the passing of condemnation "on friend or foe." Rather an unusual cir- cumstance was it not? And yet, quite in keeping with the divine admonitions: "Judge not, that ye be not judged," "Vengeance is Mine — I will repay." Except for the infamy of his act, I could almost thank "the ac- cuser of the brethren" for that "quiet slander," which wounded the poet's sensitive soul and gave us as the indirect and unintended result this beautiful hymn, which has cheered and comforted for over sixty years the hearts of tens of thousands. Moreover, I will venture to assert that the would-be destroyer of his brother's fair fame did not profit by what he had done, while the one whom he wronged was benefited by the painful experience. Thenceforth he could sympa- thize, as never before, with those similarly placed. What said the Lord to the Prophet Joseph upon this point? "If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; * * * if thou art accused with all man- ner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; * * * if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." "Hear defense before deciding." A simple and a just require- ment— so simple that one is almost tempted to regard it as super- fluous, the opposite course being so manifestly unjust, so absolutely

A HYMN WITH A HISTORY 1111 unfair. And yet it is the course that most people are prone to pursue. Rumor or a one-sided statement is quite sufficient for them. They hear a scandalous story, accept it as true, and forthwith spread it broadcast, without making the least effort to ascertain whether it is built on fact or fiction. And this they do, not so much from malice, perhaps, as from an overweening desire to impart information — the gossip's ruling passion. In their eagerness to proclaim the "glad tidings," they forget, what the fair-minded always remember, that there are two sides to every question, and that there could be no such thing as impartial justice if but one side of a case had "its day in court." It is related of an Irish magistrate (I don't know why they always put such things on the Irish) that, having listened to the plea of the prosecution, he was about to pronounce judgment, when the attorney for the defense asked to be heard. "No," said his Honor, "me moind is clear now; if you shpake I'll be confused." A pity to confuse such a mind! Perhaps Brother Penrose was given a chance to state his case before the "quiet slander was circulated." But I very much doubt it. He should have been the first to hear what was said against him, but in all probability he was the last. Men and women are often accused, condemned and punished — for slander is punishment — with- out even knowing what they are charged with. That is the way with those who speed "the shaft that flies in darkness." How different from the Lord's way, and how grossly violative of his precepts and the regulations of his Church. The law of the Lord requires that if a brother or sister offend, the one offended shall go to the offender alone, before confiding in others (Doc. and Cov. 42:88) ; the purpose being to induce confession, if there be anything to confess; bring about reconciliation, if possible, and prevent the spread of scandal, so often baseless, always exaggerated, and generally re-active against the church or community of which the accused is a member. But that is too tame a process for the purveyor of this sort of "information." He or she takes the public into confidence first, gets what gratification or glory can be had out of the situation, and the accused may have what's left — "a lemon" that has been well squeezed. Not without good reason was it made the duty of the Teacher to "watch over the church always," and "see that there is neither lying nor back-biting nor evil speaking" among its members, (Doc. and Cov. 20:54). "These six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." (Prov. 6:16-19). If the thoughtless trifler with a brother's or a sister's reputation, or even the out-and-out intentional defamer, could but realize that the assassin of character is little better in the eyes of God

1112 IMPROVEMENT ERA and good men, than the one who unlawfully takes human life, some- thing that he cannot restore, it might induce him to prudently pause before making himself one of the "things" which "the Lord doth hate." But no lie can live forever. "Time is a friend to innocence." Falsehood may travel many leagues while Truth is "getting its boots on;" but sooner or later it will be overtaken and pilloried as it deserves. Eternal justice will attend to that. It balances all accounts, and no man or woman need become the avenger of his or her own private wrong. "All things work together for good to them that love God." This saying of an ancient apostle has proved wonderfully true in the case of a modern apostle — our dear Brother Penrose. Shot at from the rear while facing the foe and fighting the good fight — "cut to the quick," but not really injured, he could afford to be patient and calmly endure, for he was innocent, and time was his friend, as the sequel showed. Slander might wound him, might "ruffle'' his feelings, but it could not stop his growth nor stay his progress. He went on loving and serving God, and rose step by step to positions of honor and influence, until, in the evening of a long and useful life, we find him standing on the very summit of success, one of the First Presidency of the Church. And where are they who tried to pull him down? We don't even know their names. Compensation At evening when I hear a lark's faint, fluted note — A tender calling from a migrant throat; There falls a love song, sadly, wistfully, The sum of partings in epitome. And when I scent the drooping petals of a rose. Out of the vanished years there poignant glows The lingering sweetness of a world abloom, And lovers dreaming in the twilight gloom. And always, in December's measured chant of pain, The rustle of the corn I hear again; Still in the Storm King's mocking battle tune There echoes clear the lyric voice of June. And ever to the scars of Time there somewhere clings A subtle balm that heals the bitterest stings; Still on the call sheet of the angel — Death! There stands the promise of returning breath. Lethbcidge, Canada. FRANK C. STEELE.